Interview with Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race
Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race recommends an amazing group of books! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Debby's book:
Review from Book Depository:
For twenty-five years, Debby Irving sensed inexplicable racial tensions in her personal and professional relationships. As a colleague and neighbor, she worried about offending people she dearly wanted to befriend. As an arts administrator, she didn't understand why her diversity efforts lacked traction. As a teacher, she found her best efforts to reach out to students and families of color left her wondering what she was missing.
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Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race
Then, in 2009, one "aha!" moment launched an adventure of discovery and insight that drastically shifted her worldview and upended her life plan. In Waking Up White, Irving tells her often cringe-worthy story with such openness that readers will turn every page rooting for her-and ultimately for all of us.
Buy On:
Book Depository €16.99
Waterstones £15.50
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
Ahhhh, where do I begin? I am almost exclusively a non-fiction reader. I’m going to go with the first self-help book I ever read. When I was 28, Women Who Love Too Much perfectly described an unhealthy relationship I was in. I was awestruck that the author seemed to know me better than I knew me! Not only did the book help get me out of that toxic relationship, it set me on a lifelong course of seeking wisdom whenever I felt stuck. I’d been taught to “buck up” and “carry on” and the idea that I could learn from others who’d studied issues I was struggling with and/or lived through them themselves blew my mind. That was the end of accepting the status quo for me!
Review from Book Depository:
Is having 'somebody to love' the most important thing in your life?
Do you constantly believe in Mr Right, and that being with him would guarantee you would no longer feel depressed or lonely?
Are you bored with 'nice guys' who are open, honest and dependable?
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Women Who Love Too Much
If being in love means being in pain, this book was written for you. Leading relationship and marriage therapist Robin Norwood describes loving too much as a pattern of thoughts and behaviour, which certain women develop as a response to problems from childhood.
Many women find themselves repeatedly drawn into unhappy and destructive relationships with men. They then struggle to make these doomed relationships work. This bestselling relationship self-help book investigates and reveals how powerfully addictive these unhealthy relationships are - but also gives a very specific programme for recovery from the disease of loving too much, a problem that plagues women everywhere.
Buy On:
Easons €8.99
Book Depository €11.85
Waterstones £9.99
Wordery $11.17
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
I recently read Know My Name: A Memoir, by Chanel Miller. On a scale of 1 – 10, I’d give it an eleven. Her gorgeous writing alone would’ve been enough to pull me in. On top of that though is her raw and riveting retelling of the trauma she experienced first by being sexually assaulted and then, for years, by the white-, male-, elite biased judicial system that coddled her assailant at every turn while retraumatizing her. Ms. Miller’s ability to see through and name the systemic and cultural inequities challenged my own deeply internalized sexism, which, until then, I wouldn’t have told you I suffered from.
Review From Book Depository:
'To girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought every day for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you.'
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Know My Name: The Survivor of the Stanford Sexual Assault Case Tells Her Story
Chanel Miller's story changed our world forever. In 2016 Brock Turner was sentenced to just six months in jail after he was caught sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. His light sentencing, and Chanel's victim impact statement, which was read by eleven million people in four days, sparked international outrage and action.
Know My Name is an intimate, profoundly moving memoir that exposes a patriarchal culture biased to protect perpetrators, a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and ultimately shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life. Entwining pain, resilience, and humour, this breath-taking memoir will stand as a modern classic.
Buy On:
Book Depository €13.04
Waterstones £9.99
Wordery $12.67
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
There’s no single book, though here’s a sampling of what kept me up late under my bedcovers with a flashlight: The Boxcar Children, Heidi, the Babar book series, Aesop’s Fables, anything by Beverly Cleary, any books about horses, any books about dogs.
Review From Book Depository:
The paperback editions of The Boxcar Children Mysteries: #1, The Boxcar Children; #2, Surprise Island; #3, The Yellow House Mystery; and #4, Mystery Ranch are offered together in a cardboard case. Follow Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden as they explore the world on their own, solve mysteries, and search for home.
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The Boxcar Children Mysteries Boxed Set #1-4
Buy On:
Book Depository €20.47
Waterstones £25.99
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
I love all three and always have a book going on each. I have a paper book on my bedside table as a way to keep electronics out of the bedroom. I travel with a kindle book to keep my bags light. And I drive with an audiobook so I can keep my eyes on the road. I’ve yet to learn to have the same book available in all three formats so have three different books going at once. Maybe I should work on that!
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
Oh yes. My local bookshop, Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is fantastic. Located in a busy shopping center it’s a place where people gather for a coffee, bring their children, stop by to pick up gifts, browse, or completely geek out (like me when I have the time). They bring in amazing speakers, are generous community-citizens, and were gracious enough to host and promote my book launch before anyone knew who I was.
Many thanks to Debby for recommending an amazing group of books! Please don't forget to check out Debby's book Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Elephant Room Press (Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race), Cornerstone (Women Who Love Too Much), Penguin Books Ltd (Know My Name), Albert Whitman & Company (The Boxcar Children).
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